The University of Texas at Dallas
Master of Fine Arts in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication

Richardson, USA

DEGREE TYPE

Master degree

DURATION

2 years

LANGUAGES

English

PACE

Full time

APPLICATION DEADLINE

EARLIEST START DATE

STUDY FORMAT

On-Campus

Key Summary

About : The Master of Fine Arts in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication explores the intersection of technology and the arts. This program focuses on innovative practices that shape modern communication, providing students with hands-on experience in various mediums. It emphasizes critical thinking and creative problem-solving, preparing students to engage with contemporary issues through artistic expression.

Career Outcomes : Graduates can pursue various career paths, including roles in digital media, interactive design, and artistic leadership. The program equips students to work in fields such as art technology, cultural institutions, and entrepreneurship within the creative sector.

The Master of Fine Arts in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication (ATEC) is a terminal degree for those who wish to teach arts and technology-related courses at the college level, as well as for those who intend to engage in a professional studio or design practice. Students participate in a culture of community and critique while focusing on developing their own creative use and critical investigation of technology in artistic practices. They learn to present their work, incorporate feedback, and situate their practise within aesthetic, historical, and cultural contexts. After completing their interdisciplinary coursework, students develop a thesis project that includes a public presentation.

The program also provides opportunities for students to refine their teaching through teaching assistantships, to attend and present at conferences through competitive scholarships, to engage with the core intellectual life of ATEC through the Dean’s Colloquium and other speaker series, and to collaborate in multiple research collectives.

Students are admitted to one of two pathways within the ATEC MFA:

Animation: Students explore the history and cultural contexts of animation and produce animated content for storytelling, aesthetic, problem-solving, or experimental purposes.
Creative Practice: Students explore and produce art and technology as collaborators, creative opportunists, critical researchers, project developers, boundary transgressors, and experimenters who aren’t afraid to fail.

Program Options

Animation
Creative Practice

Master of Fine Arts in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication: Animation Pathway

54 semester credit hours minimum

Required Major Core Courses: 9 semester credit hours

ATCM 6000 ATEC Dean's Colloquium
ATCM 6300 Approaches to Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication
ATCM 6301 Aesthetics of Interactive Arts
ATCM 6313 Animation Project Development

Students are expected to complete ATCM 6300 in their first semester and the remainder of these courses within the first 18 semester credit hours of their degree plan.

Prescribed Electives within Animation Development: 12 semester credit hours

ATCM 6305 Animation Creative Practices
ATCM 6310 Animation Studio I
ATCM 6311 Animation Studio II
ATCM 6316 Motion Capture
ATCM 6317 Procedural Animation
ATCM 6321 Digital Fabrication
ATCM 6370 Computational Design

Prescribed Electives in Histories and Theories: 9 semester credit hours

ATCM 6312 Digital Cinematography
ATCM 6315 History of Animation
ATCM 6318 Special Topics in Animation
ATCM 6377 Creativity as Social Practice
ATCM 6386 Digital Textuality
ATCM 6388 Critical Making
ATCM 6390 Social Science Research Methods in Emerging Communication

Free Electives: 9 semester credit hours

Nine semester credit hours of electives in any organized 6000-level courses in ATEC or offered by the School of Arts and Humanities, Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Naveen Jindal School of Management, School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, or School of Interdisciplinary Studies. All free electives are subject to approval by the graduate advisor.

Final Project: 15 semester credit hours

Completed over two consecutive long semesters after having completed at least 36 semester credit hours of coursework. Public presentation of work is required, such as an exhibition, conference presentation, or defense.

ATCM 6399 Master's Thesis
ATCM 6698 Master's Project I
ATCM 6699 Master's Project II

Master of Fine Arts in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication: Creative Practice Pathway

54 semester credit hours minimum

Required Major Core Courses: 9 semester credit hours

ATCM 6000 ATEC Dean's Colloquium
ATCM 6300 Approaches to Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication
ATCM 6301 Aesthetics of Interactive Arts
ATCM 6377 Creativity as Social Practice

Students are expected to complete ATCM 6300 in their first semester and the remainder of these courses within the first 18 semester credit hours of their degree plan.

Prescribed Electives within Pathway: 15 semester credit hours

Choose five courses from the following courses:

ATCM 6302 Theories and Histories of Semiotics
ATCM 6325 Arts, Science, and Humanities
ATCM 6327 Experimental Publishing
ATCM 6352 Socially Conscious Games
ATCM 6365 Design Principles
ATCM 6366 Information Architecture and Design
ATCM 6371 Visualization Research
ATCM 6380 Histories of Emerging Media
ATCM 6382 Privacy, Surveillance, and Technology
ATCM 6383 Digital Culture
ATCM 6384 Digital Publics and Counterpublics
ATCM 6385 Emerging Media and Identity
ATCM 6386 Digital Textuality
ATCM 6388 Critical Making
ATCM 6395 Special Topics in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication
VPAS 6312 Art and Society
VPAS 6313 The Business of the Arts
VPAS 6317 Art and Authorship
VPAS 6339 Painting/Digital Imaging/Video
VPAS 6375 Imagery and Iconography
VPAS 6391 Creativity: Visual Arts Workshop
VPAS 6392 Creativity: Image/Text Workshop

Prescribed Electives with Technology Focus: 6 semester credit hours

Choose two courses from the following courses:

ATCM 6304 Computer Processing for Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication
ATCM 6321 Digital Fabrication
ATCM 6322 Experimental Interactive Media
ATCM 6323 Modeling and Simulation
ATCM 6326 Research in Sound Design
ATCM 6330 Special Topics in Interactive Media
ATCM 6331 Special Topics in Sound Design
ATCM 6370 Computational Design
ATCM 6387 Emerging Media Studio

Free Electives: 9 semester credit hours

Final Project: 15 semester credit hours

Completed over two consecutive long semesters after having completed at least 36 semester credit hours of coursework. Public presentation of work required, such as an exhibition, conference presentation, or defence.